Some "gimmicks" are great. I love my rear view camera. I've been backing my SUV in my garage for four years now, not once have I hit the wall. I remember the days when people used to hang tennis balls to let them know when to stop.

It is sorta helpful maybe once every month or two. But it's hardly a must-need item. Like the rearview mirror camera thing. It's more novelty to see the faces of people behind you in traffic than it is in making you a safer driver or whatever.

It’s good for us because of our sweet dumb dog who loves to circle the car.

Anonymous wrote:We have it on both cars and I agree it's just a marketing gimmick.

The 360 is so helpful for pulling in to and navigating parking garages and not scraping up your wheels, especially because many parking garages were not built to accommodate vehicles like midsize SUVs which are so prevalent today.

If you live in the exurbs or suburbs and never encounter tight parking situations or never drive into more urban areas with garages you don't really need a 360 camera.

But it's not a pointless marketing gimmick...it's just a more specific tool that's useful to those of us trying to fit today's large cars into yesterday's microscopic spaces.

We have it on both cars and I agree it's just a marketing gimmick. Reverse camera is obviously pretty helpful but 360 degrees is just overkill.

I honestly think automakers have run out of things to put in cars to make masses upgrade. Outside of better self-driving and adaptive cruise, most of these new features are gimmicky and rather pointless. In-car navigation has been totally pointless for literally 10 years yet they still tack that crap in at a cost of $1,000+.

Anonymous wrote:I’m in favor of all driver assistance tech. That said, a question about 360 camera: How much margin of safety is built into the depiction of how much space is around the vehicle? Say I’m driving on a street with double-parked cars, and have to squeeze through a tight space. Could there be just enough room to get by while the display shows there isn’t?

It's generally good for giving you visibility on things you can't see directly, such as curbs, things on the ground like boxes or skateboards, rear corners of the vehicle, etc. If you are squeezing through tightly parked cars, your mirrors will provide better visibility about how much clearance you have.

I’m in favor of all driver assistance tech. That said, a question about 360 camera: How much margin of safety is built into the depiction of how much space is around the vehicle? Say I’m driving on a street with double-parked cars, and have to squeeze through a tight space. Could there be just enough room to get by while the display shows there isn’t?